by TChris

There's no doubt that the sprawling Ninth Circuit has a huge caseload, but that isn't the motivation underlying conservative efforts to divide the circuit into two or three parts. Long viewed by the right as a "liberal" circuit, conservatives hope to diminish its influence by breaking it into smaller pieces.

Next week, Senator John Ensign, Republican of Nevada, plans to introduce a bill to split the circuit into three parts. Representative Mike Simpson, Republican of Idaho, has already introduced legislation that would create two new appellate courts for the area.

Right wing Representative Jim Sensenbrenner, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, doesn't want to approve the addition of judgeships to any circuit (even though that would be the best solution to the workload problem) until the Ninth Circuit has been split. Most Ninth Circuit judges oppose the plan.